11 October 2023 , 06:59
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Mark Schwarzer has suggested that Erik ten Hag might have to axe Andre Onana - just like Pep Guardiola dropped Claudio Bravo at Manchester City.
Onana has made a poor start to his Manchester United career. The 27-year-old goalkeeper, who arrived from Inter Milan in a £47million deal during the summer transfer window, has conceded 19 goals in 11 games and made several notable mistakes.
Onana is under pressure after replacing the highly successful David de Gea. The 32-year-old Spaniard, who is still without a club after being released in July, made more than 600 appearances for United and won last season's Premier League Golden Glove.
Schwarzer thinks the Onana's situation at United is similar to Bravo's at City, when Guardiola dropped the Chilean for Willy Caballero before signing Ederson the following summer. Chris Sutton also believes it's time for Ten Hag to start looking for an upgrade.
Schwarzer, who played more than 500 Premier League games, has reviewed Onana's "very difficult time" at United in his column for Optus Sport. He wrote: "It’s not a situation unique to him, and it reminds me a lot of when Claudio Bravo arrived at Manchester City."
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The former Chelsea goalkeeper added: "Bravo was used to playing the way Pep wanted to play. They knew each other very, very well and while he was a decent shot stopper, he was more known for his ability with his feet and playing out from the back.
"But the difficulty was Manchester City were not Barcelona. They played differently. City had a raft of new players for Bravo to get used to playing with too and they overplayed at times, made it unnecessarily complicated and made mistakes when pressed.
"And that’s where Bravo became caught out and his biggest strength turning into his biggest weakness, because he couldn’t use it. He became exposed for his goalkeeping, which was below the level of his ability with his feet. It’s the same with Onana."
Ten Hag already knew Onana after managing him at Ajax, where they won three Eredivisie titles - among other honours - together. Onana isn't the only former Ajax star to move to Old Trafford, with Antony and Lisandro Martinez also making the switch.
Claudio Bravo struggled during his time at Manchester City (AFP via Getty Images)Do you agree with Mark Schwarzer? Let us know in the comments below!
Schwarzer claims Onana was more successful in the Netherlands because Ajax enjoy more of the ball than United. Ajax's dominance "highlighted Onana's strengths - having the ball at his feet - and hid his biggest weakness - his technical goalkeeping ability".
Schwarzer's verdict comes just days after Sutton urged Ten Hag to look for a new goalkeeper. "I think he's a downgrade on De Gea," Sutton told the Daily Mail. "I really do. I've seen enough of him. Is he better than De Gea with his feet? Probably, only just.
"But I'm more interested in him keeping the ball out the back of the net and I think he's made a lot of blunders this season. A lot of goalkeeping errors. "You go to the game against Bayern Munich, a couple of errors, and even the game this week (against Galatasaray) where I thought the third goal, he went down so early. I'm not so sure about him.
"I think Manchester United will make a change. I'm not saying this season but I think at the end of the season they need to get an upgrade on Onana."